"Hey Bella you got a minute" Maya asked as she came downstairs and saw Bella messing around the kitchen. It had been a few days since the battle and as the Cullen house began to fill with magazines for the upcoming wedding, Maya felt the need have a chat with Bella about it. Especially as her dad grew more and more upset that Bella was seemingly rushing into this marriage right out of school.
"No" Bella snapped, not wanting to talk to her.
"Please, it'll just take a minute."
Bella rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you want?"
Wow, you certainly make trying to help you fun Maya thought before taking a deep breath. "Are you completely sure you want to marry Edward now?"
"What?"
"I just mean that you have all of eternity. Are you sure you want to rush into this? A few weeks ago, you didn't want to get married and I just think that you shouldn't let Edward pressure you into it by holding him turning you over your head. Marriage is something you have to want to do for yourself. Not anyone else."
As Maya watched Bella's face darken, she wished she could be anywhere else. Did she want to be having this conversation with her? No. But she also didn't think that anyone else would. As modern as the Cullen's were, she was pretty sure their ideas on marriage were still a little dated. Especially because over the years the only real experience they had with it was between mates, where it not working out was never something they had to consider. So who cared when you married. Which meant that she felt she had to be the one to speak up and remind Bella that marriage was not a requirement for becoming a vampire. Even if she was only doing it for her dad and his reputation around Forks.
Bella may not care how her actions when Edward left had affected their dad, but she did. She could still picture the embarrassed look on his face every time they were out and overheard someone in the town gossiping about how he wasn't doing enough as her father by letting Bella mope about like that or not supporting her enough. More than once it had only been his hand on Maya's shoulder that had stopped her from lashing out at those people both verbally and physically.
Maya was determined to at least try and talk Bella out of this wedding so that her dad wouldn't have to deal with being the father of the girl who got hitched right out of high school. Knowing this town, the people would probably turn it into a teen pregnancy scandal or something. A rumour that would only be fuelled by the fact that Bella would be turned on her honeymoon and thus unable to go out in public before they moved away.
Though as Bella glared at her, she began to wish she had someone she could have left this discussion to so that she wouldn't have to deal with it. She just knew this was going to turn into a fight.
"What the hell do you think gives you the right to talk to me like that! I know what I want and I'm going to get it! I'm going to marry Edward, become a vampire and join the Cullens! I'm going to get everything I deserve and you're not going to stop me!"
"That's not what I'm trying to do Bella" Maya cut in tiredly. "I just want you to think. Marriage is a big step and I want you to be sure before you take that step. To stop and think for a moment about how this affect dad before its too late."
"Well I am sure and my marriage has nothing to do with dad so you can just fuck off and leave me alone" Bella spat.
"Great, Good. I'm glad. That's all I wanted to check before we got too far into the planning." Maya turned, ready to head back to her room before she hit the girl.
The fact that Bella couldn't even look past her own wants and desires long enough to recognize how her actions might impact her own father enraged Maya to no end and she wanted out before she did something permanent. Like kill Bella. Something she wouldn't regret and admittedly had dreamed of doing many times. But as always, the thought of how sad and upset her father would be if she did stopped her and forced her to walk away. Claws digging into her palms with how hard she worked to fight down the urge and she slowly and deliberately moved away from the human. However as she reached the doorway of the kitchen, Bella spoke up again stopping her.
"You're jealous." The tone she said it in suggested that she had just solved some great mystery. Which was good for her, but Maya was more confused than ever.
"What?"
"You're jealous that I'm marrying Edward, aren't you?" Bella asked smugly.
"Why would I be?" Maya wondered, genuinely curious as to Bella's delusional reasoning.
"Because I'm obviously marrying the better Cullen. Because I'm getting my happily ever after before you."
"Hold on, back up. Time out. Better Cullen?" Maya asked, irritated with Bella's need to turn this into a competition.
Bella scoffed, "Don't play stupid. Edward is obviously the better choice. You don't have to hide it. Its okay to be jealous that I managed to get Edward and you only got Jasper. No one would blame you. Who would want someone like that anyways? Someone covered in such disgusting and hideous scars."
Before Maya could even fully process what Bella had said, she was across the room and heard a crack as she felt her hand begin to sting. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Bella on the floor, a large red mark on her face. Later she would probably be upset about loosing control like this, but right now she was too angry to care.
Their dad came in at the sound and stopped in shock at what he saw. "Maya! Why would you hit Bella?!"
Both girls ignored him though. Bella staring up at Maya with hatred as Maya glared down at her.
"I've put up with a lot of your shit since you got here Isabella Marie Swan. I've listened to you call me a stray, a whore, a slut. Tell me I should have died with my parents. That Dad and Renee should have abandoned me on the streets where I belonged. That I was a slut who only managed to attract Jasper because I spread my legs for him. I have tried to be patient with you. To let it slide to keep the peace in this house. And when that didn't work, to give as good as I got to show you that you couldn't walk all over me. But if there is one thing I will not stand for, it's for you to insult Jasper and his scars. I will not stand here and let you demean and belittle him for things beyond his control. He has been through more than your childish mind could ever understand and I will not allow you to say that his trauma and scars somehow make him any less than he is. He has been through hell and back and he has come out of it a good man. If you think that that in anyway makes him less than I suggest that you keep those thoughts to yourself and not mention them where I can hear or I will be ensuring that you won't be able to talk for a long time. Am I clear?"
She was so angry she had surpassed explosive anger and settled into a frozen rage. Her face held no emotion and neither did her voice. The only sign of just how angry she was were her eyes. They burned with an intensity that promised retribution and pain if Bella dared to say one more word against her mate.
As she talked she had slowly stalked towards Bella, who had scuttled backwards across the floor as far as she could until her back hit the wall. The pain in her cheek was long forgotten in the face of Maya's rage. She had never seen her so angry and having that rage directed at her terrified her more than she could ever describe. Unable to even speak, she whimpered as she frantically nodded her head.
Maya stared down at her unmoving for another moment before making a sound of disgust and turning away from her to face their dad. "I'll be at the Cullen's. I don't think I can be in the house with her right now without snapping" she told him, practically spitting the word "her" before storming up the stairs to grab her keys.
She was back in moments, roughly tugging on her shoes as she went and slamming the front door.
It wasn't until they heard her car peel out of the driveway that either of the humans moved. Bella's terror quickly being replaced by anger as she thought over what had just happened. How dare that ... that stray threaten her like that! Especially when she spoke the truth! Vampires were supposed to be perfect! It wasn't her fault that Jasper was covered in those hideous scars! She was going to make sure that that stray regretted ever laying a hand on her!
Charlie on the other hand, just stared blinking at the closed-door Maya had vanished through. He was shocked. Not about her inhuman display. Which was exactly what that had been. No human could make their eyes glow in anger as hers had. Just as no human could instill such a sense of danger when angry. No, what shocked him was that she had been that angry.
Over the years he had seen her get angry or upset just as all children did, but never to this extent. She was his happy girl. The one who always smiled and laughed, finding adventure and fun in the simplest of things. He couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself as a parent. That he had failed and it was his fault the relationship between his girls had deteriorated to this point.
"Well?" demanded Bella, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Aren't you going to punish her?! She slapped me and threatened to hurt me! For no reason!"
Charlie sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. How had Bella managed to spend so much time with the supernatural and learn so little? Even he, who never really asked questions unless it was to help him understand Maya, knew the danger of insulting a mate to their partner's face. "Bella, you insulted her mate."
"SO!" she screeched, causing Charlie to flinch at the volume.
"So, Mates are incredibly protective of one another. You insulted Jasper right in front of her. I'm not saying what she did was right or even remotely okay but from the supernatural standpoint, you're lucky it wasn't worse. I will be having words with her when she has calmed down, but you also bare some of the blame Isabella. I may not know the details, but I do know Jasper has been through a lot. Making fun of someone for their past traumas or the scars they got from it is never okay."
As he finished his tired lecture, Bella just stared at him in shock. Charlie was her father; he was supposed to be on her side. Not the side of the stray and the broken vampire. She was the one who was wronged after all. So what if she insulted Jasper's scars, everybody was probably thinking the same as her anyways. They were just too afraid of what he would do if they said anything.
"So you're not going to do anything about it?" She growled.
Charlie sighed again. "I'm going to have a talk with Maya when she calms down and make it clear that I will not have violence in my house. But other than that? No. You have been pushing her since you first came here and she finally snapped. Maybe this will finally teach you that words have consequences and not everyone is as easygoing as Maya has been until now. One of these days that mouth of yours will get you into some serious trouble young lady."
Finished with his speech, Charlie grabbed his coat and headed off to see Billy, not wanting to be in the house, as Bella stared after him in shock.
~Quick note: just wanted to say violence is never the answer and I do not believe its ever okay. I also don't agree with it being used as a lesson. But I wrote this the way I did because I felt that Maya had to have a blow up at some point at Bella. It just didn't make sense for her to keep taking her shit. I also wrote Charlie as being a bit biased in this because in this story he has a great relationship with Maya, but Bella has never made an effort. Which is why while parents are supposed to be fair with their kids, in this case it just wasn't happening. (it also may or not have something to do with how Charlie really wants a son and Jasper is his only shot at that since he hates Edward 😉)~
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Pulling up to the Cullen's Maya was still angry. She had calmed down a bit on the drive as she put distance between herself and Bella, but she was still ready to take the head off the next person that so much as looked at her.
Storming up the steps and into the house, she followed her nose to find Jasper in the living room playing chess with Alice. She walked right up to him and collapsed at his feet, resting her head in his lap, wishing he was on the couch and not a chair so she could curl up next to him.
"Woah, someone's pissed" Emmet teased.
Glancing over at him, Maya finally noticed that everyone was in the living room and she groaned at how that must have looked.
"Sorry" she apologized, burying her face in Jasper's lap again.
His hand came down to rest on her head. "Don't worry about it Darlin'. But what's wrong? I've never felt you this angry before."
"Bella" Maya practically growled.
Edward stiffened at that and growled. "If you've harmed her -"
"You'll what Eddie? Go sulk in a corner?" She snarled.
"Okay, lets just calm down everyone" Esme interrupted gently, trying to avoid the fight that Maya was clearly aiming for. "Edward I'm sure Bella is fine and Maya I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds."
Maya snorted, still not looking at anyone. "Pretty sure it was. And as for Bella, does being slapped count as fine?"
Edward roared and lunged at her, Emmet catching him and easily stopping him before he reached Maya. Not that it would have mattered. Jasper had already picked her up and moved them to the other side of the room, placing her behind him.
"Edward!" Carlisle yelled. "Calm down and let Maya explain. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation to all of this."
They all looked towards her now and she looked down, ashamed of her actions. She should have never let her anger take over as it had. Focusing on her feet she explained.
"I wanted to have a word with Bella about her wedding. I know when you guys were born, 18 was an okay age for girls to get married, but now its considered kind of young. I just wanted her to consider all her options first. To think about how this might affect dad when the town learns about it. How there is a good chance he may become known as the father of the girl that got hitched at 18 and, knowing this town, probably a teen pregnancy. I mean she has forever to get married if its what she wants. I just don't want her rushing into it as she is the vampire thing and making things bad or awkward for dad." Maya gave a small shrug as Edward once again growled at her. "Anyways as most of our conversations go, it dissolved into a fight and I hit her while I was angry."
"But you two fight like cats and dogs all the time. What made this time different?" Alice asked confused. Sure their relationship was not great but Maya always tried to at least keep things civil for everyone else's sake if nothing else.
"She insulted Jasper and I lost it" Maya confessed, not wanting to share what was said.
Everyone besides Edward gained a look of understanding at that. They all knew that the mate bond made you protective. The fact that Maya had only slapped her was a miracle.
"You hurt her because of something as small as that?" Edward growled.
They all stared at him then, his response confusing them. Sure, they knew Bella was not his mate and so he probably did not fully understand the need to defend one's mate but even he must have realized how stupid Bella was to say that to her.
Shaking her head, Maya scoffed. "Of course, because it's not like you threatened to do that and worse to me if I didn't stop, how did you phrase it? Hurting her feelings?"
"Edward you didn't" Esme asked in shock. How could her son have said that to Maya?
Jasper on the other hand was snarling as he struggled to remain in control. Major roaring in his head about just killing the little boy and being done with it all. With all that had been happening with the newborn army they had both forgotten that Edward had threatened their mate.
The rest of the family also reacted in shock and anger. Though Rosalie's anger was mixed with disgust about how her brother could blame Maya for something that was almost always the human's fault.
Finally, their leader drew in a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Enough. Edward we will be discussing your behaviour later in depth. But in the meantime, what's done is done and we are going to move on. Maya, is Bella in need of medical attention?"
"I don't know" Maya admitted sheepishly. "I didn't really stick around to find out as I was worried about what I would do if I stayed." You would think the level of damage she had inflicted would be something she would remember or notice given she had been dreaming of teaching Bella a lesson for a while. But honestly the whole thing was just a blur of rage in her mind.
"Very well, then I will head over to check on her. Edward, would you like to join me?"
Edward nodded and sped off to grab his things.
After the two left, everyone else settled back down into their previous spots, silently returning to their activities. Until Rosalie broke the silence. "So? What was it like to hit her?"
"Rosalie" Esme said aghast.
Rosalie just shrugged unrepentant. "What I can't be the only one who has wanted to smack some sense into her."
Maya giggled at that. "I honestly don't remember it. One second we're arguing, then she insults Jasper and all of a sudden, she's on the ground clutching her face and my palm hurts."
"Brilliant" Rose grinned, "if you ever do feel the need to hit her again, make sure I'm there to see it yeah?"
"I'm going to try my best to avoid it, so no promises."
"Right, unless Jas needs his Knight in shining armor again you mean" Emmet joked, causing them all to laugh.
When they stopped Jasper turned back towards the game, keeping a hand tangled in Maya's hair and massaging her scalp as the last of her anger left. Focusing in on the board, he squinted at the pieces in confusion. Realizing what was wrong with them he shot Alice a glare. "Alice did you really use the distraction of Edward trying to hurt Maya to cheat?"
"No" she said, giving him her best look of innocence.
No one believed her.